Hey all,
I’m curious if any members here have tried mounting a 4x5 to a drone.
I saw this article the other day , and wondered if anyone else has done similar.
I might take this up as a side project , if I find the right heavy lifting drone.
Would be a new perspective not being tied to a tripod.
The next step is automating the action of a Grafmatic so you can take 6 shots in the air instead of one. Just need some more motors perhaps right?
Since aerial photography has been around since 1858 and tintypes even longer, it seems unlikely that the author of the above link is the first to combine the two. Perhaps the early demise of the tintype caused by more attractive replacements closed the practical window on such experiments. If we must have experiments in aerial photography by obsolete techniques, accomplishing that with the older and far more beautiful Daguerreotypes would be a better challenge.
Giles Clement in the original article has been doing tintypes/ambrotypes for about 10 years now, so is very experienced in the camera functioning part of the operation. He's put his 10000 hours in so to speak...
I'd think a speed graphic would be a lot more lightweight for drone use than a Sinar. But it's still more than my mavic air 2 could handle.
The photos of industrial buildings in the late 1800's in the US were done by constructing a temporary tower with a camera on top. Photos used for letterhead, advertisements, wall photos showing off industrial age success.
Cheaper than a heavy lift drone would be a bucket truck... My prior business could have used one, and I could have used it on weekends for photography in the pre-drone era, or now with heavier cameras.... I don't need one in my current business. But you can get a good used bucket truck for $20000; not big money money since many require commercial drivers licenses to operate which reduces the market for them somewhat, sort of like school buses have a weak used market.
A kite could lift any camera with true 1800's style.. But it's not as stable for sure as a drone.. I've done 1-2 second exposures which are tripod sharp with a small drone in still air.
I'm a licensed drone pilot and can't see any reason to mount a 4x5 camera. From a practical point of view, you can get standard mounts for cameras up to 100mp that will provide far better shutter speeds and results without worrying about darkslides, multiple exposure backs or just the overall complexity needed to gimbal mount a 4x5.
Kind of limited because, at least where I legaly fly aircraft models, you can't fly over houses or people or cars and are confined to the model airfield.
Otherwise it is a great idea to take pictures of the airfield from above.
https://www.modelaircraft.org/system...uments/105.pdf
I was an AMA member 60 years ago. Flew a Champion, Orbit reed 10 channel but only 4 used. I kitted it once. LOLOriginally Posted by ic-racer
I suppose one of the 3D printed fixed focal length cameras would be lightest.
Early aerial photographs were generally taken from balloons or in some cases, kites.
Depends on your budget and need for precise framing, but I'd probably use a kite + 3D printed 4x5 with fixed infinity focus.
The Gowland aerial camera is very light; fixed focus, lightweight aluminum box. No adjustments.
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